After returning from a loss to sweep their second match of the season, the Bruins will have the chance to continue their current momentum as they face three new teams this weekend.

No. 23 UCLA women’s volleyball (1-1) will take on West Virginia (2-1), Texas State (3-0) and host team Hawai’i (0-3) this weekend at the 2022 Outrigger Volleyball Challenge. The weekend slate comes on the heels of the Utah State Invitational, where the Bruins defeated Cal Poly 3-0 after dropping their first game of the season 3-1 against Utah State.

Redshirt junior middle blocker Anna Dodson said the team’s culture is something that will enable them to continue bouncing back, no matter the outcome of previous matches.

“We have an expectation that no matter what happens in the first game, you have to come back and play the second game,” Dodson said. “The team really did do a good job of bouncing back.”

Injury and illness took their toll on UCLA during the preseason. The team was rarely all together at once, leaving the members unable to play much six-on-six volleyball.

The negative effects of the lack of training were apparent in the Bruins’ first game against Utah State, according to freshman outside hitter/opposite Grayce Olson.

“We were just kind of knocking off the cobwebs,” Olson said. “It was definitely a reality check of ‘Okay, we need to do a lot better in terms of our play level.’”

The Bruins’ roster underwent a plethora of changes for the 2022 season, as the incoming class of seven freshmen and transfers joined nine returning players.

Olson said the upperclassmen have played a particularly crucial role in welcoming the newcomers to Westwood and ensuring the team is able to work together as one unit.

“The upperclassmen have been extremely nice to us freshmen,” Olson said. “This year our team is very, very close … and I appreciate all the older girls taking us under their wing.”

Olson started her collegiate play strong by notching ten kills – the first double digit number of her career – and two solo blocks in the game against Cal Poly.

Redshirt freshman defensive specialist/libero Katie McCarthy added that despite the new faces, the blue and gold have managed to create a strong sense of community among their entire team.

“We just love hanging out with each other outside, which is great and leads to a lot of really good team chemistry,” McCarthy said.

Olson credited this chemistry for UCLA’s ability to come back and beat Cal Poly after its defeat against Utah State.

“Going back to how close we are as a team, it was really important after that first match that we were all able to come together afterwards in the locker room and just be there for each other,” Olson said.

This weekend, UCLA will play three teams in four days, all of whom the Bruins last faced in 2019.

“We have a goal in mind of you know, one game at a time in order to get to a Pac-12 championship or a national championship,” Dodson said. “As a team, we all support each other for that next game.”

UCLA will begin the tournament against West Virginia at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday.